Putin's tiger may be readying for run home to Russia
Kuzya, a Siberian tiger released back into the wild by Russian President Vladimir Putin in May, has been detected near a river on the Sino-Russian border and may be trying to make his way back to his homeland.
Kuzya, a Siberian tiger released back into the wild by Russian President Vladimir Putin in May, has been detected near a river on the Sino-Russian border and may be trying to make his way back to his homeland.
The big cat, which was fitted with a satellite-tracking collar by Putin, was walking along the bank of the Heilong River, experts concluded after analysing GPS data, Life Daily newspaper said.
The animal was probably looking for a chance to get across the river, but it was unlikely to happen for at least 10 days until the water completely froze over, the newspaper said.
The tiger was first spotted in China last month in the Taipinggou Nature Reserve in Heilongjiang province .
The news attracted international media attention with newspapers joking that the big cat had "defected" to China.
Chen Zhigang, the director of the Heilongjiang reserve, told Shanghai's Dragon Television that the animal appeared to be very healthy.